Recent articles by local investigative journalist Dave Waddell in the on-line news-paper ChicoSol.org revealed disturbing new details about the 2017 law enforce-ment involved killing of 34 year old Tyler Rushing in Chico the night of July 23.
The articles indicate that the Chico Police Department and Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey have resisted the release of public records that provide damning evidence of law enforcement mishandling of Tyler’s shooting—-evi-dence released to Waddell only after he threatened legal action
Waddell’s articles reveal that K-9 Deputy Sheriff Ian Dickerson, with his out-of-control, off-leash, biting dog, called the shots that night. The highest ranking law enforcement official present, Lieutenant Billy Aldridge, stood on the sidelines, leaving the “command and control” to Dickerson, an underling.
Video footage also reveals that Tyler was in Dickerson’s grasp as Officer Ruppel shot him, first in the neck, then the back…the second shot, Ruppel maintained, “because [Tyler] wasn’t going all the way down.” Could that be because Dickerson was holding him upright?
Additionally, new video evidence shows that Ruppel knew before he shot Tyler the first time that he “wasn’t badly hurt by [Tyler’s] pen strike.” Why then, did Ruppel maintain, as Ramsey’s report states, that “the subject was out-of-control of the officers, and was an imminent mortal danger?”
Does this excessive use of deadly force, plus a lack of transparency and ac-countability suggest that local law enforcement puts itself above the law?
37 exonerations in 37 officer involved shootings…..coincidental?
The Rushing’s appeal for a jury trial awaits the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Ap-peals opinion. Watch the October 5th Court hearing on U-Tube, case #20-16428.
Request that California Attorney General Rob Bonta investigate local law en-forcement patterns and/or practice.
Ann Polivka
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